I am learning and testing with Woodland Scenics Deep Pour water, now I am about to try Realistic Water. I have a question for anyone that has used those 2 products along with water tints.. All the instructions and info i've seen on water tints involve Deep Pour water, and the recommended amounts...
I don't use either of these products, but I've been happy with Envirotex. Since it's a thin-pour product and I typically don't do large bodies of water, I generally only mix up a couple of ounces at a time. For that amount, I use a drop or two of acrylic craft paint.
Since I use a thin-pour product anyway, I vary the tinting between layers. The deepest layer is dark, with shallow layers getting lighter. The total depth is seldom over a half inch. Most of the illusion of depth is created with paint. The tinting gives some cloudiness to the total pour, softening the appearance of the bed of the stream or pond.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I just finished up using WS deep pour clear and tinted it using WS olive drab tint. Very happy with results. What I learned:
The recommended drops to use in the instructions were spot on. And not the same as recommended in the WS website video. The paper instructions had better results. You can do a few tests to see tint impact by varying the number of drops using the same amount of water in the second clear cup as the estimated volume of deep pour mixture. The instructions lay this out. Plenty of drops in the tint container so no way you will use even a fraction of the tint.
I prepared the river bottom using two color method w/air brush edging shown in Luke Towen YouTube videos on water. Darker color middle lighter on edge to match tint color.
Follow the WS instructions that come with Deep Pour. Before you mix, check the mixing cups. They are paper thin and one of mine had a small crack that started to leak the mixture. Glad I had the cup on a paper towel and was able to swap into second cup.
I had soil river bank, sealed it with acrylic matte varnish to keep Deep Pour from wicking up. Worked well. I will post pics when I can.
It pours and flows well. I did cover it to keep dust off until it dried.
Once dried I topped with layer of gloss Mod Podge following Towen example. Just don't do the Mod Podge too thin since it won't flow well and will dry fast but too thick you will end up with bubbles. If the Mod Podge layer does not look right you can cover it with a damp paper towel for about 20 minites and it will peal up like celaphane and you can redo it.
Strongly suggest mixing extra Deep Pour and pouring it in a test piece to do a few Mod Podge surface test till you get the hang of it.
2nd here for envirotex. I used a few (1-3) drops of green craft paint to convey a murky river or lake. Initially, I thought it looked like an industrial waste dump, but rivers where I model (southern VA) are rarely clear. Want transparent water? Miami?!
kasskaboose 2nd here for envirotex.
2nd here for envirotex.
Rich
Alton Junction
Pic below. 3E91D64F-0E35-483B-BCC4-011FFD3BAF03